


Should Have Known

by joytiny



Series: piece by piece [6]
Category: AB6IX (Band)
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Crying, Drama, M/M, donghyun is MAD, getting caught, i feel terrible for never including woojin oof, idk - Freeform, woongmin rise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 06:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20059306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joytiny/pseuds/joytiny
Summary: It was always easy to be wise after the event.





	Should Have Known

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!  
I'm sorry, this is barely proofread so I want to apologize in advance for any kind of grammatical or spelling errors...  
Anyway, I don't have much to say about this lmao just maybe that I've been watching way too many teen dramas lately, so ig you could say that's where my inspiration comes from.   
Now, enough rambling.

In hindsight, Woong probably should have known that keeping secrets would just end up coming back to bite him in the ass. He should have known that this situation would just lead to everybody getting hurt in the end.

Then again, it was always easy to be wise after the event.

Still, how had he managed to end up in a cliché teen drama moment with his boyfriend and his married ex?

Donghyun was currently looking from Woong to Youngmin and back. He wore a shocked expression on his face as he tried to process the situation in front of him.

“Y-you and...you?” Donghyun stammered. “You two were sneaking around this entire time?”

“It’s not like that!” Youngmin spoke up.

“Then what’s it like? Have you been seeing each other since the wedding?” Donghyun questioned, his tone disbelieving. When neither of them responded and their gazes turned to the floor in a guilty manner, Donghyun huffed. “I can’t believe this!”

“I can explain-”, Youngmin finally spoke up, but he didn’t get much further because Donghyun’s expression had gone from shocked to angry and he cut his best friend off before he could utter another word.

“What’s there to explain? That you lied to me this entire time? When I told you that I might still have feelings for Woong you just sat there and said nothing! When I asked you, point blank, if there was something going on between the two of you, you said no! You lied straight to my face, so what could you _possibly_ still have to explain?”

“Donghyun, calm down, please!” Woong pleaded, wanting to avoid a bigger fight.

The youngest’s attention now shifted to him. Woong had never seen Donghyun look at him like this; like he was the most despicable person he had ever laid eyes upon. “Calm down? I catch my so-called best friend with my ex-boyfriend, after lying to me no less, and you expect me to be calm about it?” his voice raised with every word.

“Yes, because it has nothing to do with you!” Woong replied, almost yelling as well.

“Oh, really? Then it’s just a coincidence that only weeks after my wedding you’re suddenly super cuddly with Youngmin of all people?”

“I think you’re forgetting that _you_ left _me_, Donghyun! Not the other way around! _You_ went and married another man after four years of being with me! You broke my heart and it took me so long to get over you and now that I’m finally managing-”

“Look, I get that I hurt you, Woong. And I feel awful about it every single day, but you didn’t have to go and hook up with my best friend for revenge!” Donghyun interrupted Woong, who was shocked out of a response. Did Donghyun really think that? Did he genuinely believe that Woong would use Youngmin like that just to get back at Donghyun for leaving him over a year ago?

“That is not what this is!” Youngmin finally spoke up again.

“Oh yeah? Then what is it?”

“I...”, Youngmin trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. Then again, how would you tell your best friend that you had had feelings for his ex-boyfriend even when they had still been together? How would you tell him that, despite knowing that it might hurt him, you had still started dating his ex?

Donghyun seemed to take Youngmin’s silence as a sort of confirmation for his theory and let out another huff.

“We didn’t plan for this to happen, you have to believe that”, Woong tried to explain. Donghyun looked at him, his expression dark. “I would never use your best friend to get back at you, Donghyun. It just happened! I was trying to move on and then I heard you say that you might still have feelings for me, and I thought that it might not be the right time to tell-”

“Wait, hang on, you _heard_?” Donghyun cut him off once again. He looked at Youngmin, his face full of disbelief. “That was why you slept on the couch that day...”, he realized. “So, while I was telling you about why I fought with my husband, Woong was just next door and you had no intentions of _mentioning_ it?”

“I didn’t want you to misunderstand...”, Youngmin answered, looking about as guilty as Woong felt.

“You’re full of shit! You even had the audacity to text him while the two of us were hanging out. It was him, wasn’t it? And then you lied again when I asked you about it! Like our friendship was just a big fat joke to you!” Donghyun yelled.

“Donghyun-”, Woong started.

“Save it. I think I’ve heard enough. You two make me sick!” Donghyun spat. He stepped closer to Youngmin and for a second Woong was worried that Donghyun would hit the older. Instead, he just poked his index finger into his chest and looked him dead in the eye.

“I’m done with you. As far as I’m concerned, this friendship is over!” he hissed. Youngmin gulped, seeming like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t. Woong was just as speechless as him. Donghyun turned on his heel and left without further words, not even throwing another glance at them.

Woong felt like he had been slapped. How had things just escalated like this from one moment to another? Donghyun’s reaction was even worse than he had imagined.

“Y-you should go after him!” Woong finally spoke up. “Or maybe _I_ should! I have to explain myself. He can’t just end your friendship! This is exactly what I didn’t want...this is my fault”, he continued, slowly growing more and more frantic. He ran his hands through his own hair, trying to think of a way to handle the situation.

Youngmin grabbed his shoulders and made Woong face him. “It’s _not_ your fault, you hear me?” he tried to assure Woong but the younger could see that he was already close to tears. How was this not Woong’s fault? Because of him an almost two-decade-long friendship was ruined, possibly even beyond repair!

“I didn’t...I never wanted to come between the two of you...I...”, Woong stammered, still feeling dazed and panicked like he was in some sort of bad dream.

“Woong, you’re not listening to me. This isn’t your fault!”

“No, it is! He only found out like this because I told you not to tell him yet...”, Woong said, not looking directly at Youngmin but rather at his chest. “M-maybe we shouldn’t have...maybe this was a mistake...”

Youngmin’s grip on his shoulders tightened ever so slightly, but not nearly enough to hurt. “Don’t say that! This was never a mistake! You said it yourself; if Donghyun can’t handle it, you’ll kick his ass!” he tried to reason with the younger.

Woong shook his head slowly. “I didn’t know he’d react this bad. I-I shouldn’t do this. _We_ shouldn’t do this!” he insisted. “I should go...” He freed himself from Youngmin’s grip and turned around to leave but Youngmin reached out for him again, fingers loosely wrapping around his wrist.

“Don’t go now...”, he pleaded. “Please, Woongie, don’t leave here thinking that you and I were just a mistake.”

Woong freed himself again. “I have to go...”, he said and left, making his way downstairs, as they had still been in Youngmin’s doorway.

On the way home, the heaviness of the situation hit him full force. He had come between Donghyun and Youngmin just like he had never wanted to. He had known from the beginning that Donghyun wouldn’t take well to the two of them dating; he had known that Donghyun might still have feelings for him and he’d...he’d still allowed himself to fall for his best friend. Woong was selfish. And now Youngmin had to suffer because of him.

This was all his fault.

~

“Oh hey, you’re back! How was your trip?” Daehwi greeted Woong when he stepped through the front door and into the living room. The younger caught his best friend’s distraught expression and was at his side in a heartbeat. “Oh no, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern laced in his voice and that was when the dam broke.

Daehwi sat Woong down on the couch along with himself, pulling him into his side and petting his hair while muttering comforting words. Woong’s body was shaking with sobs, unable to form the words to tell Daehwi about what had just happened. Donghyun’s words still rung in his head.

_You two make me sick. _

He had never heard Donghyun speak with such a cold tone before. And directed at him no less. He felt absolutely terrible. They weren’t a couple anymore but Woong had never ever had any intentions to hurt him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he managed to tell Daehwi everything, still crying his eyes out. His head was resting in Daehwi’s lap by now and the younger was still gently petting his hair in hopes it would calm him down.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Woongie!” he assured him once the older had finished his story.

Woong sniffled and wiped at his eyes – to no avail, since the tears immediately got replaced by new ones. “I don’t think it will be. You should have seen the way he looked at me. I felt like the most horrible person on the planet. I still do...”, he croaked, his voice thick and hoarse from all the crying. Daehwi’s head pats halted.

“But it’s not like you cheated on him or anything! Besides, why do you care so much about Donghyun’s reaction anyway?” Daehwi asked. Woong stopped to think about that for a second. “Do you maybe still love him?” the younger continued, voicing the question carefully.

Woong contemplated his words for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. I just...I think I got really used to loving him and missing him. He was a big part of my life, so I still care about him. On top of that, I should have known better than to come between two best friends, especially when, deep down, I knew this kind of thing would happen...”

“Oh, Woong...you’re simply too good for this world”, Daehwi said, starting to pat his head again.

Woong furrowed his brows. “Am I though?” he asked. He wasn’t exactly his own number one fan right now.

“Look, rationally speaking, going after your ex’s best friend is never a wise thing to do, because it’s just an unspoken rule. But, as cheesy and cliché as it may sound, the heart wants what it wants. And yours wants Youngmin. I haven’t seen you this insanely happy in over a year. This guy’s good for you and from what I’ve seen so far, you’re good for him too!” Daehwi explained.

“Maybe...but I can’t...I shouldn’t”, Woong trailed off. He knew it was unfair to Youngmin to just leave him standing there like he had, but he just wasn’t sure if he wanted to be responsible for ruining his relationship with his closest friend. He felt like he wasn’t worth it, even though his heart ached at the thought of not being with Youngmin. This past weekend with him had just shown Woong how much he cared for him.

Did he really think that the past few months had been a mistake? After all, he had never ever felt happier than whenever he was with Youngmin. Thanks to him, Woong felt like he could breathe again and like his heart was finally beating again. Youngmin made him feel special and wanted and _loved_. It had been like that from the moment he’d approached him at the wedding.

“Woongie, you deserve to be happy and Youngmin makes you happy, don’t even try to tell me otherwise. You’d be stupid to be throwing that away”, Daehwi spoke up like he had just read Woong’s mind. Sometimes he thought that Daehwi was something like his conscience. Despite his endless teasing sometimes, he always knew what to say to make Woong do the right thing.

“Donghyun is married now. He’ll get over this and forgive Youngmin. And you have nothing to be sorry for to begin with because you were simply moving on from the heartbreak Donghyun caused you. I’ve seen you heartbroken for way too long...I don’t think I could take seeing you like that again.”

“I don’t think I can go through it again...”, Woong mumbled, his voice still hoarse, even though now he had at least stopped crying.

“You shouldn’t have to. You followed your heart when you decided to give it a try with Youngmin. Now you should do that again. What does your heart tell you?” Daehwi asked him and he sounded like a wise old man from a movie, but Woong knew that he had a point. He sat up and wiped his face with his sleeves again.

“Right now, my heart tells me to get my ass back over to Youngmin’s place and fix what we have...”, he admitted, standing up from the couch.

Daehwi grinned and smacked his butt once. “Then let’s go, chop-chop! I’ll drive you there though because I’m not letting you behind the wheel after you just cried your eyes out”, he said and jumped to his feet. Woong smiled faintly at his enthusiastic friend but made no attempt to object.

Woong knew that he probably looked like absolute shit right now, but he couldn’t really be bothered to fix himself up. He shouldn’t have just left. Youngmin probably _felt_ like shit right now. Woong had called their relationship a mistake and he didn’t know if Youngmin even wanted to hear what he had to say now.

Daehwi drove a little too fast for comfort – which was one of the reasons why he usually wasn’t allowed to drive Woong’s car at all but today Woong couldn’t get to Youngmin’s place fast enough.

“You can already go back home. It’s cold, I don’t want you to wait out here...”, Woong said once Daehwi had pulled up in front of Youngmin’s apartment building.

“Okay, but call me to check in with me, alright?” Daehwi asked.

Woong smiled and side-hugged his friend. “Sure. I don’t know what I’d do without you...”, he mumbled.

“I know right, everyone could use someone like me”, Daehwi joked as he returned the hug. “Now go get your man back!”

Woong took a deep breath, bracing himself for possible rejection after how he’d left things with Youngmin a few hours ago. He couldn’t believe that they had still been in Pyeongchang just this morning, happy and without a single care in the world. Woong got out of the car, timidly walking over to the main entrance of the building. He went inside and made his way upstairs, his heart feeling heavier in his chest with every single step he took.

When he reached Youngmin’s door, Woong took another deep breath to try and calm his nerves before knocking on the door.

No answer.

He rang the doorbell but still, nobody answered. Woong started to grow a little worried after several attempts. Luckily, he knew the passcode to Youngmin’s apartment, so he quickly punched it in and stepped inside. There was no sign of Youngmin anywhere.

“Youngmin?” he called out as he stepped into the living room, throwing a side glance into the kitchen which was only separated from the living room by a kitchen aisle. Youngmin wasn’t here. The door to his room was open and a quick glance inside revealed that Youngmin wasn’t in there either. He listened at the bathroom door whether he was in the shower for some reason before carefully knocking at the door and eventually checking inside.

Youngmin was nowhere to be found.

And Woong’s worry went through the roof.

Just where could Youngmin have gone? Maybe he had followed Donghyun after all? Woong sure hoped that he had. Nonetheless, he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked for the older’s contact before pressing the call button.

Youngmin’s ringtone blared through the room and Woong turned to find his phone lying on the kitchen aisle. He deflated and hung up, trying to keep a clear head. He was growing more and more worried. He knew that Youngmin never left the house without his phone. Reluctantly, Woong searched for Donghyun’s contact and tried calling him, though it was sent straight to voicemail.

Woong let out a frustrated sigh and let himself fall onto Youngmin’s couch, carelessly throwing his phone onto the table. Where could Youngmin be? Woong hoped that the older had just gone out to get some air and that it was nothing more worrisome...

~

Woong startled awake after a noisy thud sounded through the quiet apartment. He sat up on the couch, where he had unintentionally dozed off as the exhaustion from the eventful day caught up with him and looked over to the door. He jumped to his feet when he saw Youngmin sitting on the floor trying to pry his shoes off his feet.

“Youngmin! Thank goodness, I was worried sick!” Woong exclaimed. He crouched down in front of Youngmin, noticing that the older seemed to be a little beside himself, still struggling with his shoes. He swayed a little too, now that Woong was getting a closer look at him. “Are you drunk?”

“Are you real or am I imagining things now?” Youngmin slurred, looking at Woong with glazed eyes. He was most definitely drunk. Woong helped Youngmin out of his shoes before looping an arm around his waist and trying to pull him up to his feet.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed...”, he mumbled. He slung Youngmin’s arm around his neck so he could steady him properly and made his way to the older’s bedroom. Once they’d reached his room, Youngmin slumped down onto his bed, carelessly sprawling out his limbs. Woong sat down on the edge of the mattress, gently reaching out to pet Youngmin’s hair.

“Please tell me you didn’t drive home like this”, he said while encouraging Youngmin to roll onto his side in case he had to throw up. Luckily, it didn’t seem like that was the case but Woong wasn’t going to take the risk.

“I didn’t...”, Youngmin mumbled groggily, causing Woong to let out a quiet sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was Youngmin putting himself and others in danger by driving drunk.

“I should get you some water and a little something to eat”, Woong pointed out but just as he was about to get up from the bed, Youngmin’s fingers clawed into his shirt, holding him back.

“I love you...so much. But I’ll never be Donghyun...”, he murmured. Woong’s mouth fell open in surprise. Youngmin drifted off to sleep, his hand still loosely gripping Woong’s shirt as the younger tried to process his words. 

_I’ll never be Donghyun..._

Woong had to bite back his tears when he realized just how much Youngmin really must have suffered. He probably thought that Woong was still in love with Donghyun and after just leaving him today, Woong understood why he might have thought that way. Still, it broke his heart to hear Youngmin say these kinds of things.

Woong carefully removed Youngmin’s fingers from his shirt and rounded the bed before getting in. He slung his arm around the older’s waist and snuggled up to him, burying his face in his back, hoping that he hadn’t ruined everything...  


**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @shipper_bish


End file.
